Essex Lion: Could The Lion Have Escaped From A Private Owner?

Most of the lions in Essex are the stone variety on the gateways of city boy mansions.

But the missing lion in Essex has sparked rumours that the big cat alleged to be terrifying farmers, tourists and locals could be a privately owned pet - and not an escapee from a zoo or circus.

It might sound like a risky animal to keep as a pet, but a survey by Big Cats in Britain found in 2006 that 12 lions, 14 tigers, two cheetahs, 16 wild cats, 18 lynx and 50 leopards are being kept by licensed private owners, some of 154 non-domestic cats.

Many lions are kept as pets in the UK, according to figures

There are also almost 500 assorted monkeys and 2,000 ostriches in private ownership as well as more than 250 poisonous snakes and 50 crocodiles.

Under the Dangerous Wild Animal Act 1976, private owners buy a licence from their local authority.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) also licenses cross-breeds, like the Bengal cat, which is a cross between the domestic cat and the wild Asian leopard cat, and wolf-dog hybrids.